Free online chlamydia and gonorrhoea urine test request in Queensland: sexually transmissible infections testing can be hard for young people even if the process is easy
Anita Groos
A E , Shelley Peardon-Freeman B , Kim McFarlane B , Simone Braithwaite C , Deepa Gajjar D and Pamela Murch A
A Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections Unit, Communicable Diseases Branch, Queensland Health, 15 Butterfield Street, Herston, Qld 4006, Australia.
B Health Contact Centre, Health Support Queensland, GPO Box 48, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
C Preventive Health Branch, Queensland Health, 15 Butterfield Street, Herston, Qld 4006, Australia.
D Health Service Strategy & Planning, Metro North Hospital and Health Services, Block 7, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Qld 4029, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: anita.groos@health.qld.gov.au
Sexual Health 17(6) 543-546 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH20118
Submitted: 9 July 2020 Accepted: 3 December 2020 Published: 18 December 2020
Abstract
Online options to request sexually transmissible infections testing are increasingly popular and a free online chlamydia and gonorrhoea urine testing service is available for people living in Queensland, Australia. Data from 3 August 2017 to 31 August 2019 provide information for 1316 reminder calls to young people (aged 16–29 years) to encourage sample submission. The reminder calls generated few additional samples for testing, suggesting young people may have changed their mind about using the service, sought testing elsewhere or were reluctant to talk further about their original decision to request a test online.
Keywords: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, reminder call, sexual health, sexually transmissible infections, sexually transmitted infections.
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